Taipei

A MEMORABLE PLACE Feeling at home in Taipei By Beth Snowberger SPECIAL TO THE SUN Last summer my parents came from our hometown of Westminster to visit me in my current home of Taipei, Taiwan. I came to Taipei to spend a year studying martial arts. That was three years ago. I found myself addicted to the sensation of learning new things every day without even trying. After a year of job-hopping, I landed a fun position teaching English at a Taipei university. My parents spent several days exploring the city, taking in the sights and smells of the dry-goods market, the sounds of chanting and firecrackers from the Taoist temple near my apartment, and the tastes of stir-fried clams with garlic and hot pepper.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- On pirate radio stations, in Taoist temples and at wedding banquets, Taiwan's enthusiastic rush toward democracy has reached a fever pitch as the island prepares for a series of unprecedented regional elections today.At first glance, the elections don't sound like much to get worked up about: Two big cities are to elect a mayor and city council while the rest of the country chooses a governor and provincial assembly. It could be just a vote about trash collection or highways.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Hours after nearly 500,000 opposition supporters protested outside his offices in central Taipei, President Chen Shui-bian agreed late yesterday to meet with his two main political rivals for talks in what is being viewed as a major step toward resolving Taiwan's post-election crisis. "Without any precondition, I hope to conduct a summit with Chairman Lien and Chairman Soong next Monday," Chen said at a news conference, referring to opposition presidential candidate Lien Chan and his vice presidential running mate, People's First Party leader James Soong.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan's foreign minister said yesterday that Taipei could accept a Bush administration decision not to sell the island warships equipped with the sophisticated Aegis weapons system. "It isn't the end of the world" if Washington decides not to include the Aegis system, which can detect and track more than 100 missiles, aircraft, surface vessels or submarines at a time, in the package of weapons it sells Taiwan, Tien Hung-mao said in an interview. "Aegis has been singled out as the weapon Taiwan has to have.

TAIWAN, STRIKINGLY wealthy and the Chinese world's first democracy, continues to be vexed on the world stage by mainland China -- the only China recognized by major powers. Taipei's goal of negotiating as equals with Beijing a resolution of their half-century conflict is stalled. China's recent shift from threatening the island to luring its business is paying big dividends, drawing billions in investment to the mainland and fostering greater economic allegiance on the island. Against that frustration comes Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian's inflammatory remarks last weekend in which he dared to speak the officially unspeakable: Taiwan and China are separate countries -- and the island should hold a referendum on independence.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Riot police fought with demonstrators and used water cannons mounted on armored cars last night as a large rally in front of the presidential palace turned unexpectedly violent. A crowd estimated by organizers at 300,000 and by the police at 100,000 assembled peacefully yesterday afternoon to call for a parliamentary investigation into a shooting incident that wounded President Chen Shui-bian on the eve of elections last month and may have helped him win re-election. Most of the crowd dispersed at sunset, but a few thousand remained and began skirmishing with riot police.

TAIPEI -- Rejecting threats from China, Taiwanese voters swept pro-independence candidate Chen Shui-bian into the presidency yesterday, breaking the Nationalist Party's half-century grip on power here and setting the stage for a possible showdown with Beijing. The victory of Chen's opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over the Nationalists, or Kuomintang, completed one of Asia's great success stories of the past two decades: Taiwan's transition from an authoritarian nation to a genuine democracy.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Yu Hui-chen never considered herself a sophisticated investor, so when she heard that more military exercises were taking place and that U.S. aircraft carriers were on their way to Taiwan, she did the first thing any self-respecting Taiwanese investor would do: She panicked and dumped every stock she owned."

Editor's note: Arundel High baseball coach Bernie Walter recently returned from Cuba, where he coached the U.S. Junior National baseball team at the World Championships. The U.S. team, which consisted of 18 of the best 17-and 18-year-old players from throughout the country, finished third behind Cuba and Taipei with a 6-2 record. The following is the third of three parts of the journal he kept about his experiences in Cuba.DAY 10, SEPT. 1This afternoon we play Venezuela, and then we have been invited to the U.S. Intersection for a reception.

HONG KONG -- Fifteen million Taiwanese voters go to the polls today in an election that could shape both the future ofTaiwanese politics and the breakaway province's relations with mainland China.At stake are all 225 seats in the national legislature, mayoral posts in Taiwan's two biggest cities and city council slots. If the ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT) regains the mayor's office in the capital of Taipei and strengthens its slim majority in the legislature, it will consolidate its 49-year hold on power and continue its slow warming of relations with Beijing.